27.18
The
first army they came to was the one commanded by Hasdrubal, which was
encamped near the city of Baecula. Cavalry outposts were stationed in front
of the camp. The advance guard of the Roman column with the velites and
skirmishers, at once attacked these outposts without changing their order of
march or stopping to entrench themselves, and the contempt they showed
for their enemy showed clearly the difference in the temper of the two
armies. The cavalry were driven in hasty flight back to their camp, and the
Roman standards were carried almost to the gates. That day's skirmish only
served to whet the courage of the Romans, and, impatient for battle, they
formed their camp. In the night Hasdrubal withdrew his force to a hill, the
summit of which formed a broad table-land. His rear was protected by a
river, in front and on either side the hill sloped down precipitously, forming a
kind of steep bank, which surrounded the whole position. Below there was
another level stretch of ground which also fell away abruptly, and was
equally difficult of ascent. When, on the morrow, Hasdrubal saw the Roman
battle-line standing in front of their camp, he sent his Numidian cavalry and
the Balearic and African light infantry on to this lower ground. Scipio rode
along the ranks and pointed to the enemy standing in full view, who, he said,
having given up all hope of success on level ground were clinging to the
hills, trusting to the strength of their position and not to their arms or their
courage. But the walls of New Carthage were higher still, and yet Roman
soldiers had surmounted them; neither hills, nor citadel, nor the sea itself had
stayed the advance of their arms. What use would the heights which the
enemy had seized be to them except to compel them to leap down cliffs and
precipices in their flight? Even that way of escape he should close to them.
He then told off two cohorts, one to hold the entrance of the valley through
which the river ran, the other to block the road which led from the city along
the slope of the hill into the country. The attack was commenced by the
light-armed troops who had repulsed the outposts the day before, and who
were led by Scipio in person. At first their only difficulty was the rough
ground over which they were marching, but when they came within range of
the infantry stationed on the lower plateau, all kinds of missiles were
showered upon them, to which they replied with showers of stones, with
which the ground was strewn, and which not only the soldiers but the camp
followers who were with them flung at the enemy. Difficult as the climb was,
and almost buried as they were beneath stones and javelins and darts, they
went steadily on, thanks to their training in escalade and their grim
determination. As soon as they reached level ground and could plant their
feet firmly, their superior mode of fighting told. The light and active enemy,
accustomed to fighting and skirmishing at a distance, when he could evade
the missiles, was quite incapable of holding his own in a hand-to-hand fight,
and he was hurled back with heavy loss on to the main body posted on the
higher ground. Scipio ordered the victors to make a frontal attack on the
enemy's centre, while he divided the remainder of his force between himself
and Laelius. Laelius was ordered to work round the right of the hill till he
could find an easier ascent; he himself, making a short detour to the left,
attacked the enemy's flank. Shouts were now resounding on all sides, and the
enemy tried to wheel their wings round to face the new attack; the
consequence was their lines got into confusion. At this moment Laelius came
up and the enemy fell back to avoid being assailed from the rear; this led to
their front being broken, and an opportunity was afforded for the Roman
centre to gain the plateau, which they could not have reached over such
difficult ground, had the leading ranks of the Carthaginians kept their
formation and the elephants remained in the fighting line. The carnage was
now spreading over the field, for Scipio, who had brought his left against the
enemy's right, was cutting up his exposed flank. There was no longer even a
chance of flight, for the roads in both directions were blocked by the Roman
detachments. Hasdrubal and his principal officers had in their flight closed
the gate of their camp, and to make matters still worse, the elephants were
galloping wildly about, and were dreaded by the Carthaginians as much as by
the Romans. The enemies' losses amounted to 8000 men.
